On Dec. 20, 2024, tech billionaire and X owner Elon Musk posted (archived) on the site: “Only the AfD can save Germany.” Following the post, which had more than 50 million views at the time of this writing, claims abounded about the politics of the political party, whose full name is Alternative für Deutschland (English translation: Alternative for Germany).
(@elonmusk / X)
Musk doubled down on his claims in the following days, repeating (archived) his own and calling (archived) Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy a “big liar” after telling the media and writing about the AfD that it was a “neo-Nazi party. “
According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine, a reputable German weekly that has compiled several opinion polls conducted in Germany in December, the AfD is currently in second place in polls for the country’s parliamentary elections, scheduled for February 2025.
The party, led lately by federal spokesmen Tino Chrupalla and Alice Weidel, has seats in the German Bundestag, the country’s parliament. It is the largest of the opposition parties.
The Federal Agency for Civic Education, a German federal public authority that promotes democracy and political participation, described the AfD as a “right-wing populist party. ”
However, factions of the party have battled extremist or, as seen above, Nazi classifications for years. In 2020, the German domestic intelligence services (BfV) declared the party’s Der Flügel faction a “proven extremist endeavor.” Der Flügel, which translates to “The Wing,” had been under investigation for suspected extremism alongside the party’s youth faction, Junge Alternative, since 2019, according to the BfV. Following the classification, Der Flügel was dissolved following a vote in AfD in 2020.
In July 2024, former faction leader Björn Höcke was fined several times for the banned Nazi slogan “Everything for Germany” at an event. This was the second time that Höcke was fined for the use of this slogan. According to the information, one of the fines is nice. Höcke was charged under Article 8(1) Article Four of the German Penal Code, which prohibits the dissemination of propaganda clothing “the content of which is intended to publicize the activities of a former National Socialist organization. “
National socialism is the political ideology practiced by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party.
The German Penal Code includes further paragraphs, in particular on National Socialism (emphasis added):
(3) Whoever publicly or in a meeting approves of, denies or downplays an act committed under the rule of National Socialism of the kind indicated in section 6 (1) of the Code of Crimes against International Law in a manner suited to causing a disturbance of the public peace incurs a penalty of imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or a fine.
(4) Anyone who disturbs public order in public or in a meeting in a way that violates the dignity of the victims, approving, glorifying or justifying National Socialist tyranny and arbitrariness, shall be punished by imprisonment for up to three years or imprisonment for a maximum of three years. term not exceeding 3 years. Ok.
Aside from Höcke’s individual charges, the AfD itself has not been found guilty of breaches of the above sections of the German Criminal Code pertaining to national socialism.
The AfD was founded in 2013, following the Euro Crisis. The party continues to argue for the withdrawal of Germany from the eurozone (the group of countries that use the Euro as their currency). In 2024, a policy on its website said Germany must “abandon the transfer union and leave the eurozone.”
On immigration, the party wrote: “Borders will have to be closed immediately to put an immediate end to the massive and unregulated immigration of people, mostly professionally unskilled, into our country and its social system. “
On religion, the party wrote: “The AfD fully recognises freedom of belief and religion. However, it requires that legislation establish limits on the practice of religion. “In the political subsection titled “Islam has no position in Germany,” the party party advocates “a general ban on the full veil in public spaces and in public services. “It should be noted that this policy is encouraged through a similar law in France and is therefore not exclusive to the AfD.
On the key factor of abortion, the AfD policy says:
Unborn young people also have the right to life. Too often, this right is subordinated to self-realization or social fears about the future. The AfD needs to address these fears by offering concrete assistance to families in all situations, in particular by facilitating and promoting the life-saving option of adoption. Conflict counseling deserves to serve to protect life.
We reject all efforts to consider the murder of unborn children a human right.
Further to this, the party also dismissed “gender research” as “not a serious science,” stating that under its policies: “The federal and state governments are no longer allowed to provide funding for “gender research” or to fill “gender professorships.”
Translations of this article are provided through DeepL. com.
be. “Euro | Finanzen | EU.” Alternative für Deutschland, 28 June 2017, https://www.afd.de/euro-finanzen-eu/.
—. “Familie | Bevölkerung.” Alternative für Deutschland, 25 June 2017, https://www.afd.de/familie-bevoelkerung/.
—. “Zuwanderung | Asylum. ” Alternative für Deutschland, June 26, 2017, https://www. afd. de/zuwanderung-asyl/.
“Deutscher Bundestag – Sitzverteilung des 20. Deutschen Bundestages.” Deutscher Bundestag, https://www.bundestag.de/parlament/plenum/sitzverteilung_20wp. Accessed 20 Dec. 2024.
@DrewPavlou. “The AfD is a pro-China and pro-Russia party that seeks to sabotage and subvert the West. ” X, December 20, 2024, https://x. com/drewpavlou/status/187004699670660979.
DStatis. « Present Germany”. Statistical Bundesamt, Statistical Bundesamt, https://www. destatis. de/EN/Themes/Society-Environment/Population/Current-Population/_node. html.
data. “AfD. ” Alternative for Germany, https://www. afd. de/. Accessed December 20, 2024.
Eurozone debt crisis | Causes, Affects, and Responses | British. https://www. britannica. com/topic/euro-zone-debt-crisis. Consultado on December 20, 2024.
Franzmann, Simon. ” (Dies) AfD. ” bpb. de, https://www. bpb. de/kurz-knapp/lexika/handwoerterbuch-politisches-system/511455/die-afd/. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
“German Court Convicts a Prominent Far-Right Politician for Using a Nazi Slogan Again.” AP News, 1 July 2024, https://apnews.com/article/germany-far-right-politician-conviction-nazi-slogan-ccda2b9beef36efd124c2ae610681bf8.
German Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch – StGB). https://www. gesetze-im-internet. de/englisch_stgb/englisch_stgb. html#p0013. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
Murphy, Chris. “The out of Touch Billionaire Running the Incoming Trump Administration Announced Last Night That He Enthusiastically Supports the Neo-Nazi Party in Germany. .” X, 20 Dec. 2024, https://x.com/ChrisMurphyCT/status/1870110504821145635.
Musk, Elon. “Only the AfD can save Germany. ” X, December 20, 2024, https://x. com/elonmusk/status/1869986946031988780.
—. ” The classical political parties in Germany have abandoned the people. “X, December 21, https://x. com/elonmusk/status/1870488903452676105.
—. “What a big liar. ” X, 20 December 2024, https://x. com/elonmusk/status/1870198951531688200.
Nazism | Definition, Leaders, Ideology, & History | Britannica. 13 Dec. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/event/Nazism.
@pesach_lattin”. Musk just supported the German far-right AfD. ” X, December 20, 2024, https://x. com/pesach_lattin/status/1870106463324254488.
@pnwbureblood. “The AfD turns out to be quite solid. They need to leave the EU and the euro, which would be a smart thing for Germany. ” X, December 20, 2024, https://x. com/pnwbureblood/status/1870169653571661908.
“Presse.” BundesamtfuerVerfassungsschutz, http://www.verfassungsschutz.de/DE/service/presse/presse_node.html. Accessed 20 Dec. 2024.
“Sonntagsfrage: Actuel Wahlumfrage zur Bundestagswahl 2025”. FAZ. NET, https://www. faz. net/aktuell/politik/bundestagswahl/sonntagsfrage-aktuelle-wahlumfrage-zur-bundestagswahl-2025-19459939. html. Accessed December 20, 2024.
Staatsanwaltschaft Halle. Staatsanwaltschaft Halle Erhebt Weitere Anklage Gegen Björn Höcke Wegen Verwendens von Kennzeichen Verfassungswidriger Organizationen. https://presse. sachsen-anhalt. de/staatsanwaltschaft-halle/2024/04/03/staatsanwaltschaft-halle-erhebt-weitere-anklage-gegen-bjoern-hoecke-wegen-verwendens-von-kennzeichen-verfassungswidriger- organisationen. I consulted December 23, 2024.
Laerke Christensen is a journalist based in London, England, with expertise in OSINT reporting.